Angela Coleman sticks to same refrain on witness stand in Gill Pratt case

Angela Coleman had no problem giving direct answers to questions posed by prosecutors when she took the stand in the racketeering trial of former lawmaker Renee Gill Pratt on Tuesday morning.

John McCusker, The Times-Picayune archiveBetty Jefferson and Angela Coleman enter the United States Court House in New Orleans for arraignment on June 20, 2008.

But soon after defense attorney Michael Fawer began his cross-examination, Coleman -- a member of the once-powerful Jefferson political family -- began declining to answer questions, saying she was confused by queries, and frequently repeating this refrain:

"I said I made a mistake, made a bad judgment, and I am here to take responsibility for it."

At one point, U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle had to pick up Fawer's line of questioning to get Coleman to explain how she and her mother, former 4th District Assessor Betty Jefferson, decided to divvy up the thousands in cash they stole from sham charities.

Gill Pratt is charged with is securing state appropriations for the bogus nonprofits while she was a state legislator. The government alleges Gill Pratt also benefited personally from some of the appropriations, in the form of gifts and cash.

"What was the objective, the purpose of the agreement (between you and your mother)?" Lemelle asked Coleman.

"They gave me the checks to sign, then they would say, 'OK, you keep this one,'" she said.

In her morning testimony, Coleman said her main role in the scheme was to sign checks written by accountant Jack Swetland on the orders of her mother, Foster, or her uncle, Mose Jefferson.

Coleman and her mother have each pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiring to commit mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering and tax evasion.

As he did in his cross-examination of Betty Jefferson, Fawer went through the details of the scheme as outlined in a 27-page summary of the government's case that both Jefferson and Coleman signed. The document states she conspired with her mother to set up sham nonprofits that purported to have a public purpose, ranging from Orleans Metropolitan Housing, which ostensibly helped the poor repair their homes, to Central City Adult Education, which was supposed to help the illiterate learn to read.

The nonprofits received millions of dollars in government grants, all secured by family members and allies who held political office. Among those who landed grants for the family charities: William Jefferson, who got a $99,350 federal earmark; Jefferson-Bullock, who steered at least $100,000 to one of the groups; and Gill Pratt, who funnelled hundreds of thousands of dollars in state money to several of the groups.

Prosecutors say nearly all of the money allotted to the charities instead went to the various family members, who often accessed the cash by making out checks to bogus payees and then depositing the proceeds into their own bank accounts. Betty Jefferson and Coleman also admitted depositing checks from a 4th District assessor account into their bank accounts.